Twelve Angry Men: Act One

by Reginald Rose
The trial is over, and now the members of the jury hold a man's fate in their hands. Nearly everyone is convinced the defendant is guilty—everyone except Juror 8. He tries to convince the other jurors to acknowledge their preconceptions and examine the case with fresh eyes.

Here are links to our lists for the play: Act One, Act Two
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. premeditated
    characterized by deliberate purpose and a degree of planning
    Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts.
  2. deliberate
    think about carefully; weigh
    I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully.
  3. unanimous
    in complete agreement
    However you decide, your verdict must be unanimous.
  4. mandatory
    required by rule
    The death sentence is mandatory in this case.
  5. logical
    marked by an orderly and coherent relation of parts
    12TH JUROR: I thought he was really sharp. I mean, the way he hammered home his points, one by one, in logical sequence.
  6. burden of proof
    the responsibility to show evidence of a disputed claim
    8TH JUROR: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution.
  7. prosecution
    lawyers for the state putting the case against the defendant
    8TH JUROR: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution.
  8. refute
    overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof
    3RD JUROR: Right. I mean, there are facts for you. You can’t refute facts.
  9. provoke
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    I can’t see two slaps in the face provoking him into committing murder.
  10. alleged
    declared but not proved
    Look, there was one alleged eyewitness to this killing.
  11. circumstantial
    suggesting that something is true without proving it
    There was a lot of circumstantial evidence, but actually those two witnesses were the entire case for the prosecution.
  12. diverge
    be out of line with
    Now this is where the stories offered by the boy and the State begin to diverge slightly.
  13. coincidence
    the property of two things happening at the same time
    Aren’t you asking us to accept a pretty incredible coincidence?
  14. constructive
    tending to improve or promote development
    FOREMAN: OK, let’s stop the yelling. Who’s got something constructive to say?
  15. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
    You come in here with your sanctimonious talk about slum kids and injustice, and you make up some wild stories, and all of a sudden you start getting through to some of these old ladies in here.
Created on Wed Sep 23 16:41:23 EDT 2015 (updated Tue Jun 02 18:52:26 EDT 2026)

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